Newbery Medal (1920-1929)

An American classic with a refrain that millions of kids love to chant: Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats. Wanda Gág's enchanting tale of the very old man who went off in search of the prettiest cat in the world for his wife and returned instead with millions to choose from has become an American classic, widely recognized as the first modern picture book. First published in 1928, it was a recipient of the 1929 Newbery Honor Award and has gone on to sell over a million copies. With its charming illustrations and rhythmic, singsong refrain, Millions of Cats remains as beloved today as it was when it first appeared almost a century ago.

Young Nicholas Drury has his hands full between looking after his ailing uncle and tending to the family business, a Massachusetts shipyard. Since the recent end of the Revolutionary War, shipbuilding is in decline and everyone in the town of Brascombe is feeling the economic pinch. Just as Nicholas is on the verge of giving up and declaring bankruptcy, he notices footprints in his backyard that lead him to new friends, a dangerous secret, and a plan to restore the community's fortunes.This Newbery Honor–winning novel for young readers recaptures the nation's anxious mood in the years that followed its newly won independence. The tale of an entire town pulling together and pitching in to build a great trading ship echoes the spirit of the American Revolution, and its account of the vessel's two-year adventure to the Caribbean and China reflects the young country's growing engagement with the wider world. Numerous atmospheric black-and-white illustrations add to the story's historical flavor.

Tod of the Fens is a children's historical novel by Elinor Whitney. Set in Boston, England, in the fifteenth century, it is a light-hearted adventure about Tod, a boy who lives with a band of men outside town, and Prince Hal, the heir to the throne, who disguises himself so he can move among the people incognito. The novel, illustrated by Warwick Goble, was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1929.

Smoky knows only one way of life: freedom. Living on the open range, he is free to go where he wants and to do what he wants. And he knows what he has to do to survive. He can beat any enemy, whether it be a rattlesnake or a hungry wolf. He is as much a part of the Wild West as it is of him, and Smoky can't imagine anything else. But then he comes across a new enemy, one that walks on two legs and makes funny sounds. Smoky can't beat this enemy the way he has all the others. But does he really want to? Or could giving up some of his freedom mean getting something in return that's even more valuable?

Dolittle is soon to be a major motion picture from Universal Pictures, starring Robert Downey Jr. and featuring the voice talents of Emma Thompson, Tom Holland, Selena Gomez, and John Cena! Doctor Dolittle returns in this classic Newbery Medal winner! Doctor Dolittle heads for the high seas in perhaps the most amazing adventure ever experienced by man or animal! Told by 9-and-a-half-year-old Tommy Stubbins, crewman and future naturalist, Doctor Dolittle and company survive a perilous shipwreck and land on the mysterious, floating Spidermonkey Island. There he meets the Great Glass Sea Snail who holds the key to the biggest mystery of all.

Winner of the first John Newbery Medal, here is Hendrik van Loon's renowned classic, updated for the twenty-first century. First published in 1921, The Story of Mankind has charmed generations of readers of all ages with its warmth, simplicity, and wisdom. Beginning with the origins of human life and sweeping forward to illuminate all of history, Hendrik van Loon's incomparable prose enlivens the characters and events of every age. His unique ability to convey history as a fascinating tale of adventure has endeared the book to countless readers and has accorded it a unique place in publishing history. This new version, which retains van Loon's original illustrations, has been brought up to date by John Merriman, professor of history at Yale University. It incorporates the most important developments of the last two decades-including space exploration, the emergence of the developing countries, the Cold War, the Internet, and the astounding advances we have witnessed in medicine and science - and looks forward into the prospect of the twenty-first century.

Charles Boardman Hawes (1889-1923) was an American author. He was posthumously awarded the 1924 Newbery Medal for The Dark Frigate (1923). Additionally, The Great Quest (1921) was a 1922 Newbery Honor book. “One morning early in the summer of 1826, I brushed the sweat from my forehead and the flour from my clothes, unrolled my shirt-sleeves to my wrists, donned my coat, and, with never a suspicion that that day was to be unlike any other, calmly walked out into the slanting sunshine. Rain had fallen in the night, and the air was still fresh and cool. Although the clock had but just struck six, I had been at work an hour, and now that my uncle, Seth Upham, had come down to take charge of the store, I was glad that some business discussed the evening before gave me an excuse to go on an errand to the other end of the village. ”

Excerpt from The Old Tobacco Shop: A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of AdventureHe grasped his money tight in his hand, as he had been told to do, and stood and looked at the little hunchbacked wooden man holding out his packet of black wooden cigars. I wonder, thought Freddie.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.